Ernestine Peaslee said she would like to stay on as Somerville Town Clerk, but she thinks a younger person would be better able to adapt to the new technologies used in the town office.
Peaslee will not seek reelection for the position she has held almost 21 years. Selectman Martha Staples and General Assistance Officer Delta Chase have taken out nomination papers for the position. Staples has returned hers.
“The computer is very hard for me,” Peaslee said Feb. 5. “But it’s been a great job.”
Peaslee said the best part of her job has been the people.
“I’ve grown up with the families,” she said. Peaslee used to work as a substitute teacher at the Somerville School and said she often meets former students while working at the town office. One little boy came into the office earlier this week and suggested town officials “chain her to her chair” to keep her in the post she will leave following the March 29 town meeting election.
Peaslee said she was never contested in her elections to the position.
With the exception of 15 years during which she lived and worked in Augusta, Peaslee has lived in Somerville her entire 78 years. She will turn 79 later this month. Her family settled in the town in the 1800s.
Peaslee said the past year has been a difficult one for her personally, with the deaths of a number of good friends over the course of the year. Recently her cousin, Cecil Brann, 92, died in a Jan. 24 fire that destroyed her grandparents’ home.
Peaslee said the town office has changed quite a bit since it moved from her sister’s home to its location within the former Somerville School building. In those early days, she worked with Barbara Crummett.
“We thought it was a big office then,” she said. She said she likes the direction the town has taken, with recent infrastructure improvements such as the salt and sand shed and the new town office.
“The landscape has changed somewhat since I was a kid,” she said. Peaslee said there were new houses and fewer farms. “It isn’t as quiet as it used to be, but it’s not noisy.”
She said she enjoys the summer people and all the residents and visitors she has worked with over the years. She also enjoyed meeting and working with other municipal clerks through the Maine Municipal Association’s training programs.
Peaslee said she has no specific plans for after retirement.
“I’m going to do something, whether it’s volunteer or maybe find something,” she said. “I’ve worked all my life.” She said she has done missionary work, enjoys travel and may do more. She is also active in several clubs including the Somerville Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary.
“The town has supported me 100 percent.” Peaslee said.
“I usually spend a few minutes with each person, because I know them so well,” she said. “I ask them about their family. They like that.” She said people like to know others are concerned about their families and their lives.”
“I do wish I could have stayed a little bit longer,” Peaslee said.
